Unit%203:%20Biological%20Psychology

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Unit 3 Biological Psychology

• Essential Task 3-5a.Describe the subdivisions and
  functions of the Central Nervous System
• A. Brain
• i. Brain Stem
• Medulla, Pons, Reticular Formation, Cerebellum,
  and the Thalamus
• ii. Limbic System
• Hypothalamus, Amygdala, and the Hippocampus
• iii. Cerebral Cortex (Left and Right Hemispheres
  and the corpus callosum)
• Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Temporal Lobe,
  and the Frontal Lobe
• Primary Motor Cortex and Primary Sensory Cortex
• Wernicke's Area and Broca's Area
• B. Spinal Cord

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Essential Task 3-5 CNS
Outline

• A. Brain
• i. Brain Stem
• Medulla, Pons, Reticular Formation, Cerebellum,
  and the Thalamus
• ii. Limbic System
• Hypothalamus, Amygdala, and the Hippocampus
• iii. Cerebral Cortex
• (Left and Right Hemispheres and the corpus
  callosum)
• Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Temporal Lobe,
  and the Frontal Lobe Primary Motor Cortex and
  Primary Sensory Cortex Wernicke's Area and
  Broca's Area
• B. Spinal Cord

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The Brain Stem (Automatic Functions)
Brain Structure Primary Function Secondary Function
Medulla Respiration, blood pressure, heart rate Vomiting
Pons Puts you to sleep
Reticular Formation Attention, regulates awareness
Cerebellum Balance and coordination
Thalamus Directs sensory information to the rest of the brain
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Older Brain Structures

• The Brainstem is the oldest part of the brain,
  beginning where the spinal cord swells and enters
  the skull. It is responsible for automatic
  survival functions.

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Brain Stem

• The Medulla muh-DUL-uh is the base of the
  brainstem
• It controls autonomic functions and relays nerve
  signals between the brain and spinal cord.
• respiration
• blood pressure
• heart rate
• reflex arcs
• vomiting

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Brain Stem

• Pons and inside that the (Reticular Formation) is
  a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an
  important role in controlling arousal.
• It is involved in motor control and sensory
  analysis... for example, information from the ear
  first enters the brain in the pons. It has parts
  that are important for the level of consciousness
  and for sleep.
• The Reticular Formation controls
• Attention
• Cardiac Reflexes
• Motor Functions
• Regulates Awareness
• Relays Nerve Signals to the Cerebral Cortex
• Sleep

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Brain Stem

• The Medulla muh-DUL-uh is the base of the
  brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing.
• Reticular Formation is a nerve network in the
  brainstem that plays an important role in
  controlling arousal.

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Brain Stem

• The Thalamus THAL-uh-muss is the brains
  sensory switchboard, located on top of the
  brainstem. It directs messages to the sensory
  areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the
  cerebellum and medulla.

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Cerebellum

• The little brain attached to the rear of the
  brainstem. It helps coordinate voluntary
  movements and balance.

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Limbic System (Emotion Center)
Brain Structure Primary Function Secondary Function
Hypothalamus Drives Hunger, Thirst, Sex Temperature control
Amygdala Fight or Flight
Hippocampus STM to LTM
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The Limbic System

• The Limbic System is a doughnut-shaped system of
  neural structures at the border of the brainstem
  and cerebrum, associated with emotions such as
  fear, aggression and drives for food and sex. It
  includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and
  hypothalamus.

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Amygdala

• The Amygdala ah-MIG-dah-la consists of two
  almond-shaped neural clusters linked to the
  emotions of fear and anger.

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Hypothalamus

• The Hypothalamus lies below (hypo) the thalamus.
  It directs several maintenance activities like
  eating, drinking, body temperature, and control
  of emotions. It helps govern the endocrine system
  via the pituitary gland.

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Reward Center

• Rats cross an electrified grid for
  self-stimulation when electrodes are placed in
  the reward (hypothalamus) center (top picture).
  When the limbic system is manipulated, a rat will
  navigate fields or climb up a tree (bottom
  picture).

Sanjiv Talwar, SUNY Downstate
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Cerebral Cortex
Brain Structure Primary Function Secondary Function
Occipital Lobe Visual Processing
Parietal Lobe Spatial Reasoning
Frontal Lobe Decision Making
Temporal Lobe Auditory sensory information
Motor Cortex Movement
Sensory Cortex Sensation
Wernickes Area Understanding Speech
Brocas Area Producing Speech
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The Cerebral Cortex

• The intricate fabric of interconnected neural
  cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres. It is
  the bodys ultimate control and information
  processing center.

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Structure of the Cortex

• Each brain hemisphere is divided into four lobes
  that are separated by prominent fissures. These
  lobes are the frontal lobe (forehead), parietal
  lobe (top to rear head), occipital lobe (back
  head) and temporal lobe (side of head).

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Functions of the Cortex

• The Motor Cortex is the area at the rear of the
  frontal lobes that control voluntary movements.
  The Sensory Cortex (parietal cortex) receives
  information from skin surface and sense organs.

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Visual Function

• The functional MRI scan shows the visual cortex
  is active as the subject looks at faces.

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Auditory Function

• The functional MRI scan shows the auditory cortex
  is active in patients who hallucinate.

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Association Areas

• More intelligent animals have increased
  uncommitted or association areas of the cortex.

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Language
Aphasia is an impairment of language, usually
caused by left hemisphere damage either to
Brocas area (impaired speaking) or to Wernickes
area (impaired understanding).
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Specialization Integration

• Brain activity when hearing, seeing, and speaking
  words

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Can you make a purple circle with a cross in the
middle?
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Fun with your Hemispheres

• Rotate your dominant hand in one direction while
  at the same time rotating the opposite foot in
  the other direction.
• No problem since controlled by two hemispheres
• Now, rotate your dominant hand in one direction
  while at the same time rotating the foot on the
  same side in the other direction.

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Our Divided Brain

• Our brain is divided into two hemispheres.
• The left hemisphere processes reading, writing,
  speaking, mathematics, and comprehension skills.
  In the 1960s, it was termed as the dominant brain.

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Hemispheric Specialization

• Corpus Callosum
• Fibers that connect the two hemispheres
• Allow close communication between left and right
  hemisphere
• Each hemisphere appears to specialize in certain
  functions
• (See Worksheet)

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The Wagner Preference Inventory

• (a) left, logical
• (b) left, verbal
• (c) right, manipulative/spatial
• (d) right, creative

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Hemispheric Specialization
People with intact brains also show left-right
hemispheric differences in mental abilities. A
number of brain scan studies show normal
individuals engage their right brain when
completing a perceptual task and their left brain
when carrying out a linguistic task.
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Splitting the Brain

• A procedure in which the two hemispheres of the
  brain are isolated by cutting the connecting
  fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum)
  between them.

Corpus Callosum
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Split Brain Patients

• With the corpus callosum severed, objects (apple)
  presented in the right visual field can be named.
  Objects (pencil) in the left visual field cannot.

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Divided Consciousness
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The Spinal Cord

• Complex cable of nerves that connects brain to
  rest of the body
• Carries motor impulses from the brain to internal
  organs and muscles
• Carries sensory information from extremities and
  internal organs to the brain
• 400,000 people a year in US either partial or
  complete paralysis.

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The Spinal Cord

• The spinal cord controls some protective reflex
  movements without any input from the brain